This is one of those gentle Kore-eda films, evoking existential thought as well as whimsy.

Professional couple Otone (Haruka Ayase) and Kensuke (Daigo Yamamoto) are going about their lives two years after the death of their son. She is an architect, he is a carpenter and there is a feeling that they are coping but separately.

She receives a two year anniversary memorial token from a company called Rebirth. They offer a service, for some reason free and I have a feeling there is a meaning behind this, that is to provide a humanoid version of their dead child. He is cynical but she is intrigued.

You can probably predict the initial story with this, with Otone being entraced by their resurrected child Kakeru (Rimu Kuwaki) and Kensuke being reluctant to accept him. There are several references to him being just a Roomba.

But this is a Kore-eda so the story progresses in a way that is not quite predictable. We are made to examine the meaning of the sheep in the box, the quote from The Little Prince that Otone reads to Kakeru. It is about how we use our imagination to understand what is inside, what can’t be seen.

There is an emerging whimsy, wound up in discussions around architecture and combining of different materials, of relationships with mothers and grandmothers, and the duties we perform.

Don’t expect the deepest storyline nor much logic behind some of the main beats. It is enough I think to be carried along by the feelings and existential vibe of grief and purpose and memory.